Bewitched
by TammyDevil666
Summary: Buffy and the Scoobies meet a young Witch who is being hunted by a Warlock and Buffy along with Spike try to protect her. Takes place in the 5th Season.
1. Chapter 1

This takes place in the 5th Season, so you won't be confused about when, it would be a little after "Forever." The whole robot thing never happened because I wasn't feeling that whole thing and I didn't like Spike getting beat up like that, so it never happened. Even though it didn't happen, Buffy is still gonna be a little nicer to Spike than usual. This was the first fan fiction I ever wrote. I wasn't gonna put it in the website because I thought it was kinda lame, but I'm bored so I decided to type it up and put it in here, of course I changed a lot of it. I obviously don't own anything; if I did things would have been better on the show. Anyway, fill free to tell me what ya'll think, all comments are welcome.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
A young girl with long, dark, wavy hair was running through the cemetery as fast as she could. She thought her heart would pound out of her chest at the rate she was going, but she didn't stop. She knew her life depended on it. The man behind her was quickly catching up so she kept running. "You can't run forever." He yelled at her to get her attention. "I will kill you!" The girl knew that he was serious so she would never stop running. Her legs were about to give up on her, but she didn't stop until she came upon a store that said "The Magic Box." She ran inside hoping that he wouldn't follow her in. When she was inside she quickly closed the door behind her. She stood there trying to catch her breath when she heard someone behind her.  
  
"Can I help you?" She turned around startled. The man had a British accent and he seemed friendly enough. She was so out of breath that she couldn't seem to find her voice. "Are you alright?" He asked when he noticed how startled she was. After a few seconds she finally found her voice.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied. "I'm just tired from my...jog. I'm just here to look around." The man nodded.  
  
"Yes, well I'm Mr. Giles. If you need any help with anything feel free to let me know or you could ask Anya by the cash register." She looked over at the perky blonde girl at the cash register and nodded.  
  
"Thank you!" She claimed. He nodded and walked away leaving her alone. She didn't know if it was safe to go back outside so she decided to look around the store for a bit. There were all kinds of magic books and potions for casting spells. Suddenly she felt right at home. She heard a noise coming from the back of the store so she decided to check it out. She saw a blonde girl that looked a little older than her beating the stuffing out of a punching bag. She had great strength and seemed to be in good shape. It looked like she was about to punch a hole in the bag. After a few seconds she stopped and grabbed a towel and wiped her face when she noticed that she wasn't alone.  
  
"I didn't know I had an audience." She said.  
  
"I'm sorry! I just wanted to see what the noise was. I didn't mean to interrupt." The other girl shrugged.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I needed a break anyway. I'm Buffy by the way." She said holding out her hand to the girl.  
  
"I'm Alex, it's nice to meet you." She said as she shook Buffy's hand.  
  
"You too." Buffy replied as they dropped hands.  
  
"Do you work here?" Alex asked and Buffy shook her head.  
  
"No, just a friend of the owner." She looked at her watch. "The store is gonna close soon. Did you need help with anything in particular?" Alex shook her head.  
  
"No, I was just looking. You have some pretty good skills with that thing." Alex said as she pointed to the punching bag.  
  
"Yeah, well I've had practice." Alex nodded.  
  
"I guess I should go now, wouldn't want my...mom to be worried." Buffy nodded and watched the girl walk away. Buffy didn't know what it was, but she had a feeling that something wasn't right. She just shrugged it off and headed back to the punching bag. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Alex was scared as she walked back through the cemetery, always looking behind her every chance she got. She heard about a lot of strange things that tended to happen at night in Sunnydale. She was also scared because he was still looking for her. She stopped after she thought she heard footsteps behind her, but then shrugged it off and kept walking. After a few seconds she heard it again and without even bothering to look back she just took off running. She kept running, not looking where she was going when she bumped into someone. She looked up and again couldn't seem to find her voice. "I told you." He said. "You can't run from me." She was about to scream when he put a hand over her mouth cutting her scream off. "Now Alex, there is no need for that. This would be a lot less painful for you if you just stopped fighting me." He said with a sinister voice. "Your poor mother couldn't defeat me, what makes you think you can, child." At that she bit his hand and kicked him as hard as she could in the abdomen. He let go of her as he fell to the ground. She used that to her advantage and took off running again. She knew that that wouldn't stop him for long and he was again right behind her. "You'll pay for that you stupid bitch." She didn't listen as she kept running. She stopped at a tombstone to catch her breath. She looked around and didn't see him anywhere, she wondered if he got tired and gave up, but she knew it wasn't likely. She then saw him and hid behind the tombstone. "Come out, come out wherever you are. You can't keep this up, girl. Sooner or later I will find you." Alex was still hiding when she saw a snake hiss in front of her. She was about to scream when a hand came over her mouth cutting her scream off again. She didn't know who it was, but she just stood there watching as her attacker suddenly walked away. She just sighed in relief realizing that someone's hand was still over her mouth. She didn't know if she should be afraid until he spoke.  
  
"Whatever you do, don't scream. I won't hurt you." She noticed that he also had a British accent, but it seemed different than the one the man had in the magic shop. "I'm gonna take my hand off now and if you don't wanna wake the dead or get that bloke's attention that seems to be after you, I suggest you don't scream, okay?" She nodded and he took his hand away. She turned around and looked at him. He was very pale with bleached blonde hair and seemed to be into the leather look.  
  
"Who...who are you?" She asked, shakily.  
  
"Name's Spike, love. Who might you be?" He asked.  
  
"Alex," she replied. "Thanks, for helping me." Spike nodded.  
  
"Don't mention it, so who's the bugger that was after you?" Alex looked down then back up at him.  
  
"He's...no one." Spike raised his eyebrows at her.  
  
"Didn't seem like no one, seemed like he was after you for a reason." Alex shook her head, but didn't say anything. Spike saw how scared the girl was so he didn't push her. "How old are you, pet?" He asked.  
  
"I'm sixteen," she claimed. Spike sighed.  
  
"What's a young girl like you doing out here by yourself. This is not exactly a safe place, especially not at night." He told her.  
  
"I got lost." She replied, but Spike wasn't convinced. He just nodded.  
  
"Come on, I'll take you home." He started walking and noticed that she wasn't following him. "Or you could just stay here and deal with the creatures of the night." Alex looked down then raised her head to look him in the eyes.  
  
"It's not that, I just...I don't have anywhere to go." Spike felt for the girl and walked back to her.  
  
"What about your parents?" Alex looked like she was about to cry, but didn't want to in front of a stranger so she tried not to.  
  
"They're...dead." She whispered, but with Spike's enhanced hearing, he was able to catch what she said.  
  
"Sorry bout that, must be hard. Isn't there someone looking out for you, like a relative or something?" She shook her head.  
  
"No...It's just me." Spike looked at the young girl and his unbeating heart went out to her.  
  
"Come on, I know of someone that might be able to help you." Alex nodded and they both left the cemetery. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Spike hesitated before knocking on Buffy's door and Alex didn't know what was wrong. After a few seconds he managed to knock and the door swung open to reveal Buffy. "Spike, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked him.  
  
"Found this bird in the cemetery." He said pointing to Alex. "Looks like some bloke is after her and she doesn't have anywhere else to go. Figured she could use some help and I couldn't think of anyone else to take her to." Buffy took what he said in and nodded when she looked next to him and finally noticed Alex.  
  
"Hey, Alex right?" Buffy asked and she nodded.  
  
"Yeah, it's good to see you again. Sorry, but I forgot your name." She stated.  
  
"It's Buffy, don't worry you'll get used to it." Spike looked at both of them.  
  
"So, I take it you two have met before." Buffy nodded.  
  
"We met in the magic shop a little while ago. So, what is this about you not having anywhere to go? You told me that you had to go home because your mom would worry." Alex looked down then back up at Buffy.  
  
"My mom is dead; it's not something I like to talk about." Buffy nodded in understanding, she knew what it was like to lose a mom.  
  
"Yeah, I can relate." Alex was about to say something else when they heard a loud scream coming from the street. "Hold that thought." Buffy told her as she took off to where she heard the scream. Spike looked back at Alex.  
  
"Stay here." He told her as he took off after Buffy. Alex was curious to know what was going on and she didn't want to be alone, so she went after Spike. When she caught up to them she saw what looked like a disfigured man biting a woman. Buffy grabbed the man and threw him off of the woman and told her to run and without hesitation she did. Then two other disfigured men showed up and Buffy along with Spike fought them with incredible speed and skill. Alex couldn't believe how well they were doing, she just watched in awe when she saw Buffy pull out a stake and plunge it into the guy's heart. He then turned into dust and Alex couldn't believe what was happening. She then saw Buffy do the same thing to the guy on her left and Spike got the other guy. They dusted themselves off and walked over to her.  
  
"You didn't by any chance see that, did you?" Buffy asked and Alex just nodded not knowing what to say.  
  
"I told her to stay at the house, but why would I expect a teenager to listen." Spike said.  
  
"I'm sorry, I was just curious. What just happened?" Buffy sighed.  
  
"Come on, I'll explain on the way back to the house. I guess you will be staying with me until we find some other place for you. Not that I wouldn't want you to stay with me, it's just that my house tends to not be the safest house on the block and I already have one teenaged sister to look out for." Buffy told her.  
  
"You have a sister?" Alex asked as they headed back to the house and Buffy nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I know she'll like the idea of having someone closer to her age around." After that they were walking in silence until Alex spoke again.  
  
"Um, I know I'm no expert or anything, but those guys back there, were they...vampires?" Buffy just nodded again.  
  
"That they were." She said and Alex couldn't believe it.  
  
"Wow, I mean I've heard of weird things going on in this town, but I never realized that there could be real vampires." Alex claimed.  
  
"Yeah, welcome to Sunnydale. I take it you haven't been in town long." Alex shook her head.  
  
"No, only for a few days. I lived in L.A." Buffy shook her head.  
  
"You and me both, so what brings you here?" Alex looked at her and shrugged.  
  
"Just needed to get away for a while I guess, change of scenery." Buffy nodded. They finally got back to the house and Buffy opened the door.  
  
"Come in, both of you." She said looking at Spike. He was surprised that she would invite him in again after uninviting him. He stepped over the threshold and they all walked into the living room. "So, I guess you could have my room for right now and I'll take my mom's." Buffy said looking at Alex.  
  
"Thanks, I appreciate it." They all sat on the couch. "So, now can we talk about what happened? I mean you guys really handled those vampires like you've been doing it for a long time. Are you like superheroes or something?" Buffy laughed.  
  
"I don't know if I would say that." Spike smiled.  
  
"She's being modest. She's the hero; I'm just here to help out whenever I can." Alex nodded.  
  
"So, you fight vampires often?" Buffy nodded.  
  
"For about six years now. I'm the Slayer, it's what I do." Buffy had a hint of sadness in her voice as she said that.  
  
"You're the Slayer, now it makes sense." Buffy looked at her.  
  
"You know what a Slayer is?" Alex nodded.  
  
"I've heard of the Slayer, but I used to always think it was a myth. I never even knew vampires existed until now." Buffy nodded and Alex looked at Spike. "So, what's your deal?" Spike wasn't sure what to say until Buffy spoke up.  
  
"He's a vampire." She said it like it was the easiest thing in the world. Alex's eyes lit up.  
  
"Okay, now I'm officially confused." Buffy smiled.  
  
"Yeah, it's confusing. To make a long story short, he can't hurt anyone. Some military guys put a chip in his head to prevent him from killing or hurting people. Having a neutered vampire does tend to come in handy." She said smiling at Spike, he just glared at her. Alex was trying to process it all.  
  
"Oh, good to know." Alex looked at both of them. "So, are you guys...?"  
  
"God, no!" Buffy exclaimed cutting Alex off. "I mean no, we really aren't." Spike couldn't help but smile at her embarrassment. He decided to take advantage of it.  
  
"You're being modest again, pet." He said as he put his arm around her. "You know you love having me around." Buffy lifted his arm off of her.  
  
"Spike, don't touch the merchandise." She told him and he smiled at her.  
  
"I'll try to remember that." Buffy got off the couch.  
  
"I guess I should go get Dawn so you can meet her. I know she's not in bed yet." As Buffy headed for the stairs she saw Dawn already coming down. "Hey, I was just gonna come get you." She saw the look on Dawn's face and knew that something was wrong.  
  
"Buffy, there's a really weird guy outside. He's just standing out there and something doesn't seem right." Dawn told her. Buffy was about to say something when the front door crashed open. Spike and Alex rushed over to where Buffy and Dawn were and saw a man walk into the house looking right at Alex and then at the others that were with her.  
  
"Well, this should be fun." 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
"No," Alex whispered as she saw who came in the house. Buffy got in front of Alex and made sure that Dawn was also behind her.  
  
"You plan on paying for that door?" Buffy asked and he just laughed.  
  
"Well, you must be the Slayer. I've heard a lot about you. This doesn't concern you, so why don't you just give me what I want and I'll be on my way." Buffy glared at him.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" She asked.  
  
"I go by many names, but you may call me, Damien." He told her.  
  
"Great, now that we're introduced you can get your ass out." Damien gave a sinister smirk.  
  
"Not until I get what I came for." With that he raised his hand and electricity shot out of it and went right into Buffy. It hit her and she went flying into the wall.  
  
"Buffy!" Dawn yelled. Spike grabbed Dawn and Alex and hid them under a table.  
  
"Stay down." He told them and they listened. Then he glared at Damien. "You'll pay for that, mate." Spike attacked Damien and he managed to get some punches in, but the other guy was stronger and with one punch sent him flying across the room. He landed right by Buffy who was just getting up.  
  
"You are no match for me. Come out girl or I'll kill everyone in this room." That's when Alex stood up.  
  
"Don't hurt them; they have nothing to do with this." Damien walked towards her.  
  
"Don't worry, it's you I want. If they interfere again though I won't hesitate to kill them." He grabbed her by the neck. "You have been a trouble maker haven't you? Thinking you could run away from me." Buffy had enough and kicked him hard so he let Alex go. He then turned on her. "You bitch, I told you not to get involved. Now you'll pay for that." He aimed his arm again and Buffy thought he was about to blast her again, but instead of aiming for her, he aimed for Dawn. "Maybe this will teach you." Buffy was about to stop him when Alex's voice got her attention.  
  
"Dad!" She exclaimed. "Please, don't do it." That got his attention along with the others in the room. He put his arm down and walked towards her and slapped her hard across the face.  
  
"You know better than that." He said as he aimed for Dawn again. Alex had tears streaming down her face as she saw that he was about to blast Dawn and Alex wasn't sure if she would be able to survive it.  
  
"No!" She yelled. This time she raised her hand and in one swift movement, Damien went flying out of the house. She whispered a few words and a force field went up around the house preventing him from coming back in. She knew that it was strong though and she wouldn't be able to hold it for very long.  
  
"This isn't over." He said as he vanished into thin air. Alex put the force field down and it took a lot out of her that she passed out. When she woke up she noticed that she was in a bed which she guessed was Buffy's room. She sat up and noticed that she wasn't alone.  
  
"Hey, you finally woke up." Buffy said. Alex noticed that Dawn and Spike were also in the room.  
  
"How long was I out for?" She asked.  
  
"Only about an hour." Buffy replied and Alex just nodded. "So, care to explain about what happened down there? Like how you did what you did and who or what that guy was that tried to kill you." Alex took a deep breath.  
  
"I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." Buffy sat down next to her.  
  
"No one is blaming you for anything, I'm just concerned. Besides, you did manage to save us at the end with that mojo of your's. So, are you a Witch or something?" Alex nodded.  
  
"I was afraid to tell you because I didn't want you to think I was a freak. Then I found out that you're not exactly normal either which made me feel a little better. I guess I was still scared though." Buffy nodded.  
  
"It's okay; I do know what it's like to be different. I happen to know two very cool Witches, so you're not alone." That got Alex's attention.  
  
"Really? You have friends that are Witches?" Buffy nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I'll introduce you sometime. Now about that guy, he had some powers too I noticed. Is he a Warlock?" Alex nodded not sure what else to say. "You called him dad; I'm guessing that's not a nickname." Alex looked down then back up at her new friends.  
  
"It's not, he's my...dad. It's a long story." She told them.  
  
"We've got time." Spike said after standing there in silence. Dawn was still at a loss for words and Buffy nodded. Alex took a deep breath and decided to tell them everything.  
  
"My mom was a Witch; it tends to run in the family, but only with females. The witches in my family don't come into their powers until they're sixteen, which means that I've only had my powers for about a few months now. My mom told me what I was before then though, so I would know that it was coming. I never wanted to believe it, my whole life I've always been kind of a loner, always keeping to myself. I never had any real friends because I guess I was afraid. What's funny is that I used to always get treated like a freak in school without anyone knowing the truth about me. Who knew that I would really become a freak." Her voice broke off as tears strolled down her face. Buffy put her arm around her trying to comfort her.  
  
"You're not a freak, you're just different and there's nothing wrong with that." Buffy told her.  
  
"I hate it though; I'd give anything to just be normal like a regular kid." Buffy agreed.  
  
"When I was your age I always wanted that too, but now I've accepted who I am and learned to deal with it. Things may be hard now, but I promise it will get easier when you get older." Alex looked at her.  
  
"Have things gotten easier for you?" Buffy thought about it.  
  
"Not so much, but I've still managed to defeat everything I've come across and so will you. It just takes time." Alex looked down.  
  
"I don't think I have much time. My dad isn't gonna stop coming after me until I'm dead." Buffy brushed a strand of hair out of her face.  
  
"I don't get how a parent could try and kill their own kid. Why would he do that?" Buffy asked.  
  
"He wants my powers. I'm the last in my family and he needs my powers to be complete. It'll make him even more powerful than he already is. He killed...he killed my mom." She said as more tears came down her face.  
  
"Oh god! I'm sorry, Alex. What you must be going through, it's too much for any kid." Alex nodded.  
  
"He's crazy, he didn't even care that he killed her and he won't care if he kills me. When my mom first met him she didn't know what he really was. Warlocks and Witches are enemies and it's always been that way. Warlocks always go after Witches for their powers. It's been like that for god knows how long. My mom fell in love with my dad without knowing what he was. He planned all of it. He knew she was a Witch when he met her and he pretended to love her, but he was always planning on killing her. She was the last in line then and he figured that once he had her powers it would be enough. Of course he didn't plan on me coming into the picture. I guess in a way I was a mistake. I was never supposed to be here and he made sure that there was no way she would get pregnant. He knew that he couldn't kill her while she was pregnant with me, so he had to wait till I was born. I know that he wanted to get rid of me before I got older and got into my powers, so that's how my mom found out the truth. He tried to kill me as a baby to get rid of me. She stopped him and took me away. For as long as I can remember we have been running from him. We moved around so much and I've been to so many different schools, but no matter where we went he would always find us. About a few years ago we moved to L.A. to stay with a friend of my mom's. She was the only one that ever knew about my mom and the only one we could ever trust. He found us over a week ago. My mom's friend was out one day and he showed up at her house. I was hiding and I heard them yelling and I saw him hit her. After that I came out from hiding and I tried to hit him back, but that just made him mad and then he turned on me. My mom tried to help and that's when he pulled out his knife and stabbed her. I'll never forget the look on his face when he did it, pure evil. Her powers went into him then. I think I was too shocked to do anything when he decided that it was my turn to die. After that I just took off and that's when I came here. I couldn't go very far on my own." With that she stopped and looked at the stunned faces around her. "Wow, I can probably write a book with that." She said trying to make a serious situation funny, but failed miserably.  
  
"Well, that is some story. I'm sorry about what you had to deal with." Alex nodded.  
  
"It's okay, I guess. Look, I want to thank you for letting me stay here, but I think I should go. This just proves that I can't get anyone involved in this because they could get hurt or worse." Buffy shook her head.  
  
"I've dealt with worse, I can handle it. You don't have anywhere else to go so you're gonna stay here until this is over. I'll help you in any way I can, I promise." Alex smiled.  
  
"Thanks, that means a lot." Buffy nodded.  
  
"Well, it's getting late. You should get some rest and you too." She said pointing at Dawn. "I know it's passed your bedtime." Dawn rolled her eyes and without saying anything headed to her room. Buffy turned to look back at Alex. "Get some sleep, we'll talk later." With that Buffy grabbed Spike's arm and they both left the room. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
The next day everyone was at the magic shop. Buffy introduced Alex to everyone and she liked them all right away, especially Xander. She thought he was cute and funny. She loved talking to Willow and Tara about magic, finally having someone to talk to about it. Alex felt that she related most to Tara because her mother was also very powerful and she also died. Tara never talked much about what happened. "Wow, a real Warlock." Willow said for about the fifth time. "I mean that is just cool, not for you of course." She said looking at Alex.  
  
"You must be pretty powerful. Having a mom that was a Witch and a dad that's a Warlock." Tara stated and Alex shook her head.  
  
"No, I hardly have any real power. If I do I'm not sure how to use it. My mom died before she was able to teach me hardly anything." Buffy caught some of the conversation and decided to join in.  
  
"You did that force field thing at the house. That was pretty neat." Buffy said.  
  
"That was the first time I ever tried that and it felt like all of my life force was getting sucked out of me, it was too strong." Buffy nodded.  
  
"Well, you'll get better. Just takes some practice." Dawn came next to Alex.  
  
"I guess you're also good with telekinesis with the way you just threw your dad out of the house." Dawn stopped when she saw the look on Buffy's face. "What? I'm just saying." Buffy sighed.  
  
"Dawn, go do your homework." Dawn just rolled her eyes and headed back to the table. Buffy turned her attention to Giles. "You find anything?" Giles shook his head.  
  
"Not of yet. There are all types of demons and vampires in this text, but nothing about Warlocks." Buffy sighed.  
  
"We're getting nowhere here. There's no telling when he'll come back for Alex. We need to be ready, but it would help if I knew more about Warlocks." Giles nodded and decided to look in another book.  
  
"Eureka!" Xander exclaimed and everyone looked at him. "I think I found our guy." Xander handed the book to Buffy.  
  
"Yeah, that's him." Alex walked next to Buffy and looked at the book. "Your dad must be pretty evil and ancient to be in this book." Alex nodded.  
  
"He really is." Anya looked over the counter at the picture of Damien.  
  
"Well, he has a ruggedly handsome thing going on there." Xander stared at her. "What? I was evil once, and you would have to be blind not to notice." She told him.  
  
"Anya, he's a killer. Killer's aren't ruggedly handsome." Xander replied.  
  
"Well, what about Spike? He's not so bad to look at either if I do say so myself." Xander had a grossed out look on his face.  
  
"I'm gonna pretend that you didn't say that." Buffy looked up at both of them.  
  
"Guys, focus here." She scolded them.  
  
"Sorry, Buff. So, does it say anything that could be useful?" Xander asked and Buffy nodded then looked at Alex.  
  
"When Warlock's kill Witches they have to stab them in the heart, right?" Alex nodded. "Well, that's how you kill them. I know this is probably hard for you, but the only way to stop your father is by stabbing him in the heart like he would do a Witch. It's the only way and you know that I can't be the one to do it. It would have to be you." Alex looked at the faces around her and nodded.  
  
"I can do it." She replied, not even sure if she could or not.  
  
"Okay, then we just wait till he shows himself again. Shouldn't be too hard, soon this will all be over." Buffy said, not sounding so convincing. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
Back at the house, Alex was sitting on the back porch by herself just enjoying the quiet for a change. She didn't realize that she was crying until she felt the tears sting her eyes. It was a little cold so she wrapped her arms around herself as she cried. She then heard footsteps coming her way and stopping right in front of her. She looked up to see Spike standing there. "You okay, love?" Alex looked away from him and shook her head.  
  
"I've been better." Spike nodded and sat down next to her.  
  
"Buffy told me, do you think you can do it?" Alex looked at him.  
  
"You mean kill my father? Sure, it's just an everyday thing that I'm sure every girl my age has to go through, why not." She looked down again. "My mother couldn't even stop him and she was a lot stronger than me. What makes anyone think that I can do it?" Spike looked at her, really starting to feel for the girl.  
  
"Buffy thinks you can. She believes in you and coming from her, that's a lot. Hell, I believe in you too, of course I'm sure it's not much coming from me." Alex gave a faint smile.  
  
"It's a lot, thanks." Spike returned her smile.  
  
"Don't mention it. Don't worry too much about this; I'm sure you'll do fine. Just know how lucky you are to be here with Buffy. She won't let anything happen to you, trust me on that. She's pretty amazing that way." Alex looked at him.  
  
"You love her?" She asked.  
  
"Is it that obvious, I can't even be mysterious anymore." Alex laughed; she had to admit that it was good talking to him.  
  
"Sorry that I took the mystery away from you." She told him.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I think it's been gone for a while." Alex nodded; she noticed that the tears were still coming down her face. She didn't think they would ever go away. Spike noticed and decided to pat her back in a comforting way. She was so tired of everything that she rested her head on his shoulder and let him comfort her and for the first time in her life she actually felt safe. Spike was surprised by the affection the girl was showing for him, but he kept rubbing her back. She reminded him of Dawn and like he would do anything to protect his nibblet he would do anything to protect this other young girl. "You know, I'm feeling a little deja vu here." Alex lifted her head up and looked at him.  
  
"What do you mean?" She asked.  
  
"A little while ago me and Buffy were sitting out here. She was upset about her mum being sick and I tried to comfort her and she actually let me. This situation just reminded me of it." Alex nodded. Buffy didn't tell her much about her mom or how she died. She figured that she didn't wanna talk about it and didn't wanna push. Alex just yawned and rested her head back on Spike's shoulder. Inside the house Buffy was watching Spike and Alex through the window. She caught most of their conversation and then felt bad about eavesdropping. When she saw Alex rest her head on Spike's shoulder she couldn't help but think about how cute it was. She knew that Alex probably reminded Spike of Dawn so he probably felt protective of her just as much. Upstairs, Dawn was writing in her journal. She destroyed her other ones after she found out she was the Key. After things got better she talked Buffy into getting her another one. She finished her entry and got up to close her blinds since it was dark out. She looked out the window and she saw someone standing outside. She then realized who it was. Dawn ran to her door to warn Buffy, but it wouldn't open. She kept pulling and nothing.  
  
"Buffy!" She yelled, and then the window shattered. Downstairs Buffy heard the noise and headed to the stairs when Spike and Alex came back in the house hearing the window also. They both followed Buffy up the stairs. Buffy came to Dawn's door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. She then put her Slayer strength into it and the doorknob broke off and she kicked the door open. She went inside, Spike and Alex behind her. What Buffy saw was Damien holding Dawn with his hand around her throat. Tears were streaming down her sister's face.  
  
"So nice of you to join us." Damien said.  
  
"Let her go." Buffy said, angrily. Damien laughed.  
  
"I don't think so, I have a better idea." Buffy tried to grab Dawn when Damien disappeared.  
  
"Dawn!" Buffy yelled, but it was too late. She was gone. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
"Where did she go?" Buffy asked Alex, clearly upset.  
  
"I don't know, he blinked. It's this thing Warlocks do to get from place to place faster. She could be anywhere." Buffy sat down on the bed.  
  
"I can't believe I just let him take her like that. I should have done something. Reacted better, I should have stopped him." Buffy told them. Spike sat next to her and put his arm around her.  
  
"Buffy, it wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done; you didn't want her to get hurt." Buffy rested her head on his chest.  
  
"Yeah, but how is getting her kidnapped good? There's no telling what he will do to her and I don't even know where she is." She let the tears fall down her face and Spike just held her, kissing the top of her head. The next day at the magic shop Buffy was telling everyone what happened. "We have to find her." Buffy told them when she was finished.  
  
"Don't worry, Buffy. We'll get her back." Xander told her, trying to make her feel better.  
  
"I'm sorry, this is my fault. I should have never gotten any of you involved. If I didn't, Dawn wouldn't have been taken." Alex stated.  
  
"This isn't your fault. You were scared and needed help. I don't mind that you came to me, you've made things pretty interesting around here." Buffy told her.  
  
"Yeah, but I still feel terrible. I know that he only took Dawn to get to me, so I can't help but feel responsible." Buffy went towards her.  
  
"It's okay, it's nobody's fault. I just wish I knew where she was." Alex looked up and had an idea.  
  
"I may know of a way, but it's risky and I've never really tried it before. My mom told me about it. There's a way that Witches can sense Warlocks sometimes and him being my father we're connected, so I should be able to find him." Buffy looked better.  
  
"That's great; do you know how to do it?" Alex nodded.  
  
"She told me about it, but I've never been able to try it. I'm not that powerful and I'm not even sure if I would be able to, but I'm willing to try." Buffy shook her head.  
  
"You said it could be risky. I don't want you to do something that could get you hurt." Alex looked at her; it was good having someone worry about her.  
  
"I have to at least try, for Dawn's sake." Buffy nodded.  
  
"Okay, but be careful." Alex nodded and sat down.  
  
"It's like meditating; it takes a lot of concentration and focus." Alex closed her eyes. She tried to get the sadistic image of her father in focus. She kept her eyes closed as the images went by. Then she opened her eyes with a start and tried to get her breathing under control, but it wasn't easy. Buffy went to her side.  
  
"Are you okay? You probably shouldn't have tried it." Alex took a deep breath when she got her breathing under control.  
  
"I...I saw her." Buffy looked up.  
  
"You know where she is?" Alex shook her head.  
  
"I don't know the specific location. It went by so fast, but I saw her. She's tied up and gagged somewhere. She's so scared, I felt it." Alex looked down.  
  
"Did you manage to see anything that could give us an idea of where she is?" She took another breath.  
  
"I'm not sure; I did see a lot of rocks. Like maybe she's underground, maybe a cave or something." Buffy nodded.  
  
"I can work that, but we're gonna need Spike. As soon as the sun sets, we're gonna look for her." Buffy said as she looked at the faces around her. They all just nodded not sure what else to say. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
After getting Spike, everyone was walking through the cemetery looking for Dawn. Alex was in the lead. "I can feel him, he's close by." She told everyone. They were walking for about an hour when Alex came across a cave entrance. "I think Dawn is in there." Buffy nodded.  
  
"Well, let's check it out." She said and Alex was about to walk into the cave when Buffy grabbed her arm. "I'll go in first." She told her. "Do you think you can do this?" Alex nodded.  
  
"I have to." Buffy nodded and headed into the cave, everyone else following shortly behind her. They were walking deeper into the cave when Buffy saw Dawn up ahead, tied up and gagged like Alex said. She ran to her and Spike tried to grab her arm to stop her, but she was too fast. He knew it was too easy so he figured it was probably a trap. As Buffy reached Dawn she saw fear in her sister's eyes. She took the gag off of her mouth.  
  
"Dawn, are you okay?" Buffy asked her.  
  
"Buffy, I was so scared." She said and Buffy nodded.  
  
"It's okay, I'm gonna get you out of here." She was about to untie her when she was suddenly thrown into a wall by what seemed like an invisible force.  
  
"Buffy!" Dawn yelled and Buffy looked up to see Damien standing before her.  
  
"I knew you would show up eventually. Where is she?" Buffy got up and shrugged.  
  
"Beats me, I came alone." Damien glared at her.  
  
"You're lying." Buffy got serious.  
  
"Well, nothing gets by you." With that the others came out from hiding, armed with crossbows that they aimed at Damien and he just laughed.  
  
"I am not going to be beaten by a bunch of children and their toys." He said.  
  
"We'll see about that." Everyone aimed and shot at Damien. The bolts were sticking out of him and he got mad and ripped them out and then glared at Buffy. It didn't even slow him down. "Get Dawn out of her!" Buffy yelled and Anya ran to Dawn and untied her.  
  
"Come on." She said as she grabbed Dawn's hand and her and Xander took her out of the cave. Dawn didn't wanna leave her sister, but she let them take her out of the cave. She figured she wouldn't be much help anyway. Damien attacked Buffy and she fought him the best way she could. He probably figured that he didn't need to use his powers on her. He then grabbed her neck.  
  
"My fight is not with you, girl. You should have stayed out of it, since you didn't now I will kill you." He was choking her when Spike hit him from behind. He let go of Buffy and turned on Spike. He grabbed him and threw him against a wall.  
  
"Stop!" Alex yelled. "I'm the one you want. Just deal with me and leave them out of it." Damien had an evil smirk on his face.  
  
"Now you see my way." He grabbed her and they both disappeared. Buffy saw what happened and she went to Spike and helped him up.  
  
"Where is he?" He asked her.  
  
"He's gone and he took Alex with him." She told him.  
  
"Well, let's go find her." Buffy shook her head.  
  
"We talked earlier and she knew this might happen. She told us to not try and find her. She has to do this herself, there's nothing we can do." Spike took in what she was saying and nodded.  
  
"I just hope the bird is okay." Buffy nodded.  
  
"You and me both." With that they left the cave. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
Alex didn't know where she was. She looked around and it looked like she was in a warehouse, but she didn't know for sure. "Always causing trouble, something's will never change with you." Alex looked up at the voice to see Damien.  
  
"Please, why are you doing this? I'm your daughter." He just laughed.  
  
"Do you think that means anything to me? You were a mistake, but of course you knew that. There was no way your mother could have gotten pregnant, I made sure of it. Somehow you still managed to show up. So, all I'm going to do is take something out of this world that was never supposed to exist in the first place. What's the harm in that?" He pulled out a knife and she noticed that it was the same knife that he used to kill her mother. "Now, I promise that this won't hurt at all." Alex had tears in her eyes.  
  
"Dad, please don't do this." He smiled at her.  
  
"No, begging comes later." He grabbed her and slammed her against the wall. "It's best that you don't try to fight me." He held her arms so she couldn't use them, so she decided to use her eyes like her mom taught her. She got angry and focused her eyes on the knife and it went flying out of his hand and landed behind him. "Clever, but now you can't get to it either." He told her.  
  
"I have other weapons." With that she kicked him hard in the groin and he let her go. She went to retrieve the knife when she realized she couldn't move. She lifted off of the ground and was thrown back into the wall, hitting her head hard. Her vision was getting blurry, but she saw Damien pick the knife up.  
  
"You are really starting to make me mad. Why are you fighting me, Alex? You haven't had a very good life, I would think you would want to be out of this world." She glared at him.  
  
"I'm only sixteen. I don't wanna die, and I have you to thank for my crappy life." He was angry and grabbed her neck.  
  
"I've had enough problems with children these last few days. I'm finishing this; it's been nice knowing you." He was about to plunge the knife into her heart when she moved out of the way and again kicked the knife from his hand. She raised her hand and this time sent him flying into the wall. She saw some rope on the ground and floated it over to him tying his hands together so he couldn't use them. She walked over to him and kicked him hard in the face. She then picked up the knife and walked back to him. "You can't do it; you don't have the guts to kill your own father." Alex glared at him.  
  
"I don't have a father, I never did. My whole life I've been running from you, but I'm tired of running. I'm tired of spending everyday looking over my shoulder, never knowing who to trust. You stole my childhood and took my mother away from me. Now it's your turn." Damien laughed at her again.  
  
"Nice speech, how long did it take you to come up with that?" Alex was fed up and kicked him again to wipe that smirk off his face.  
  
"This ends here, I'm finished." With that she stabbed him in the heart. He cried out and she watched as he disintegrated right in front of her. "So are you." She whispered. She dropped the knife and fell down on her knees and cried the tears that she could no longer hold in. She then saw a bright light appear out of nowhere. Then the form of a woman appeared one that she knew well. "Mom." She whispered.  
  
"My Alexandra, I knew you could do it. You have set us all free." Tears were still sliding down Alex's face.  
  
"Mom, I miss you. I need you." She said.  
  
"I will always be with you, my child. I will always love you and you have made me very proud." With that she vanished.  
  
"No, please don't leave me." She then fell back to the ground and just cried for what seemed like an eternity. Everyone was back at the magic shop and they were all worried.  
  
"It's been hours, I don't like this. What if something happened to her?" Buffy said, upset.  
  
"We're all worried, Buffy. We just have to hope for the best, there's really nothing else we can do." Giles said.  
  
"It's just that I feel responsible for her like I do Dawn. She's just a kid given all of this responsibility and power that she never asked for. I look at this girl and I see me. I know what she's going through and it's killing me that I can't help her." Buffy said looking at the faces around her.  
  
"You have helped her, Buffy. Don't you see that? You let her stay with you and you didn't treat her like a freak like everyone else has. You believed in her. If you ask me, I think you've helped her more than you know. This was just something that she had to do herself." Spike told her.  
  
"I just wish I could have done more." Spike was about to say something else when Alex walked into the store. Buffy immediately went to her and noticed that she has been crying. "Are you okay? We were starting to get worried." Alex just nodded. "What happened?" She looked up at her.  
  
"I killed him, it's over." Buffy nodded.  
  
"How are you holding up?" Alex sighed.  
  
"I've been better, but at least I'm alive." Buffy smiled.  
  
"Yeah, so what are you gonna do now?" Alex thought about it.  
  
"I think I'm gonna go back to L.A. to see my mom's friend. I haven't seen her since I ran off and I should probably go back now that everything's okay." Buffy nodded.  
  
"Well, we're gonna miss you." Alex smiled.  
  
"I'll miss you guys too. I want to thank you all for what you've done for me. I've never really had any friends before and I'm really glad that I got to know you guys." She told all of them.  
  
"Yeah, so you better keep in touch." Buffy told her.  
  
"If you ever need any help with anything magic related, feel free to ask." Willow replied.  
  
"I'll keep that in mind." Alex said her goodbyes and hugged everyone until she got to Buffy and Spike. "I think I have you two to thank the most." She said as she hugged Buffy and she hugged her back. After a few seconds they let go.  
  
"Just be careful in L.A. It's not the Hellmouth, but it still has its share of demons." Alex nodded.  
  
"Don't I know it." Alex then turned to Spike and gave him a hug. He was surprised at first, but then hugged her back. When they let go he looked at her.  
  
"You take care of yourself and don't be a stranger." Alex nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"I won't." She said as she walked away. Spike smiled as she left, he would really miss her. Buffy walked back to the front of the store.  
  
"You're really gonna miss her, aren't you?" Tara asked her when she joined them.  
  
"Yeah, it was like I had two sisters for a little while there. I just hope she can have a better life now, she deserves it." Dawn walked up to Buffy. "I still have one sister to look after and I always will." Buffy said as she put her arm around Dawn.  
  
"I'm never gonna have freedom am I?" Dawn asked and Buffy shook her head.  
  
"Nope." Dawn rolled her eyes.  
  
"I'm really gonna miss Alex." Buffy smiled.  
  
"You and me both."  
  
The End  
  
That is where I must come to an end. I don't know if it's the best ending, but it was all I could think of. Anyway, hope ya'll liked it. Don't be a stranger and feel free to review. Thanks! 


End file.
